INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Deputies continue to search for an armed carjacking suspect that jumped into an elderly woman’s car in broad daylight and forced her to drive to a nearby bank, which was put on lock down, authorities said.
The incident is the first carjacking of the year, said sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers. Flowers said carjacking is not common for Indian River County.
“We need your help to get this dangerous man off the streets,” Sheriff Deryl Loar said in a statement. “To kidnap this elderly woman at gunpoint in broad daylight shows how dangerous he truly is.”
The incident happened about noon Monday outside a nearby Publix near the Ryanwood Plaza. The armed jacking caused a nearby Bank of America to be put on lock down, deputies said. The plaza is located at the corner of State Road 60 and 58th Avenue.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the suspect jumped into the woman’s vehicle, pulled a handgun on her and forced her to drive to the Bank of America. The woman complied, but when she saw others standing outside the bank, the Sheriff’s Office said she “courageously” exited the vehicle toward the bystanders.
The carjacker then moved to the driver’s seat and fled west on State Road 60, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies found the woman’s vehicle, a white Chrysler 300, later on Monday in the 5900 block of 24th Street.
Deputies, K-9 units and a helicopter searched the area, but were unable to find the suspect, deputies said. Deputies are processing the car for fingerprints and DNA, Flowers said.
The suspect is described as a light skinned man possibly of Middle Eastern, Hispanic or African-American descent, the Sheriff’s Office said. No other details about the suspect were immediately released.
Anyone with information should call Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers and possibly be eligible for a reward up to $3,000. Crime Stoppers can be reached at 1-800-273-TIPS or www.tcwatch.org.